Be prepared for more deaths: PM
Mark Dodd; 29/4/08
Australian troops in Afghanistan face a “difficult and dangerous and bloody” year, and the nation must be prepared for further deaths, Kevin Rudd warned yesterday. In his bleakest yet assessment of the challenge facing coalition forces in Afghanistan, the Prime Minister said history was against foreign military forces operating in the war-torn country but Australia was in for the “long haul”. His grim warning follows the death of special forces soldier Lance Corporal Jason Marks, 27, from the Sydney-based 4th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment. Four other commandos received serious wounds. Corporal Marks was the fifth Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan since coalition troops launched their campaign against the Taliban and al-Qa’ida in 2002. Four Australians have now died since October last year.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23614250-31477,00.html?from=public_rss
Is the West reaping what it sowed?
29/4/08
An assassination attempt on the president and the death of an Australian soldier show the uphill battle the West faces in Afghanistan. Difficult, dangerous and bloody. That was the prognosis yesterday by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to what the future holds for our troops fighting in Afghanistan. Prepare for more casualties, he said. Yesterday the head of the Australian Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, announced that Lance Corporal Jason Marks, 27, had died in a gun battle with the Taliban. Four other commandos had been wounded. Lance Corporal Marks is the fifth Australian to die in Afghanistan since 2002
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23614250-5013404,00.html
See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/is-the-west-reaping-what-it-sowed/2008/04/28/1209234753962.html
Tags: Afghanistan, Australia, Terrorism, USA